The Predictable (And Tragic) Evolution of New Media

Some news today on the tragic suicide of a young man captured on Justin.tv — Justin.tv being a tad different than, say, YouTube, as its one of those video services which streams content live.  That is to say, he committed suicide on “live” internet-streaming video.

The loss of a young life is always regrettable.  I think the real bit of news is merely that it may have been the first time it was captured in this way.  As new media evolves, and as a newer generation of users become comfortable with capturing every facet of their life permanently (as debatable as that is), suicide captured in the medium of the day is inevitable.

As is the birth of life (cue: Robert Scoble Some other dude twittering the birth of his child).  And the suffering of people in life.

The “new” web is more than the spectacle of the crushingly banal or the bruisingly idiotic, and like it or lump it, it will probably catalogue the depth and breadth of the human experience in a way that’s never been done before.

And yes.  That probably means sometime, incredibly and regrettably, someone will probably be murdered in a live-streamed broadcast as well.

And yes.  It probably also means one day it will be so banal it won’t be reported as a television worthy (or blog-worthy) event either.

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